1. Get your concept right

Think about the product, its target audience and the brand. A luxury item needs a high-end event, such as a classy restaurant or art space. A high-tech product will probably want an arty, minimal and tech-driven space. What will engage your audience and be relevant to them? Think outside the box! You need to really put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and ask yourself what they would enjoy. This will help you to marry up your supplier options with your budget and the best possible venue choice to get as many people as possible through the door.

2. Get the logistics in place

Think about your audience again to work out what time of day will work best for the event. Busy business people might prefer a post-work cocktail and networking event that fits in with their hours, for example. Make it convenient for them. Offer to put on food and drink so that they will be refreshed and not need to leave to find sustenance.

3. Create the hook

The most important thing you need to keep asking yourself is why will your target audience want to attend your product launch? Remember, your product may not be enough on its own unless your audience already has a degree of awareness of it. So get a keynote speaker or an industry name to be there and present. Get people through the door with the promise of great networking, a party atmosphere, tutorials and guest speakers, immersive experiences, drinks, free promotional merchandise and competitions – whatever it takes to ensure that the right people turn up.

4. Get your marketing right

The right marketing campaign will help to bring your event to life and excite your audience enough to make them book a space. Make the event shareable and the registration and booking process smooth and seamless. Create great messaging and visuals that show exactly how exciting the launch will be. Use teasers to pique their interest whilst making it clear that the event will be worth their while and not just ‘fluff’ that wastes their precious time. You must deliver value and this could be achieved in various ways depending on whether your audience is B2B or B2C. Think value in terms of content, insights, freebies and so forth.

Your audience will certainly expect to engage with your new product and will ideally take one home with them too, depending on whether it is a big ticket item or a consumable. For a big ticket item, you could give away discounts or a competition to win one of the new launch pieces.

5. Remember the golden rule

All attendees want to know ‘what’s in it for me’ – so don’t think from the perspective of your brand and its need to launch a new product successfully to market. Think about your end customer and the way in which the product will make their life easier. This will make it easier to ensure that your messaging is on point and that the reasons for attending the launch are far easier to communicate.

6. Make it easy

If you need to put on transport for your audience then do so. If you need to book a venue that is closer to your delegates then do so. Think of all the ways that will make it easier to encourage them to your event. Send them a beautiful invite, optimise the booking process and get in touch beforehand to remind them about the event and ensure they will be there. The personal touch will go a long way.

7. Stream it

When the event is running, take videos of it and have a Twitter hashtag that allows attendees to share their experiences with the wider audience within their network. This will help to share your launch with a far larger audience and create interest beyond the immediate physical event. Remember that the content captured at the event can also be repurposed and shared across multiple content platforms to share your event and launch further.

With these steps in place, you can ensure a successful product launch and strong ROI, strengthening your brand still further.